Project:Realpolitik/CR

Canon Route

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Exploring the concept of committing to an all-encompassing narrative, embracing the world as found, expanding upon its main elements to create an enduring mid to late game content cycle. How this is done while balancing the principles and themes Kenshi puts forth discussed below...

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Key Recruits

Fundamental to the trajectory of the net world state is the status of (certain) Unique Recruits.

These characters are handled in a specialized manner to weave them more directly into the overarching narrative of the mod.

Since Realpolitik is an exercise in worldbuilding and narrative exploration above all else - characters are welcomed into the mix if inspiration arises.

The whole of the mapspace, the regional ecosystems and characters share a symbiotic relationship with each other. The passage of time induces changes in the characters caught up in the running current.

What this means

Said characters, if left to experience the changing world and not recruited, will in time find their own paths forward. Recruits will become unavailable as such moving on join with chosen factions conducting their roles within the narrative structure.

The northern characters...

1. Izumi
2. Griffin
3. Burn
4. Soman
5. Flotsam Girls

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Each of these characters (some far more than others) become embroiled in the events surrounding the northern turmoil from the War in Bast to the Cannibal Invasion, the emergence of Sleeping Sickness and quarantine/aftermath scenarios.

--(Much more to explain here about the keyring system)

[On the matter of Quests]

Quests in a traditional sense don't tend to make any in Kenshi. Neither would they in the sense of what Realpolitik presents.

Specific requests catered to player-centric outcomes are an unfortunately undesirable path to follow when creating content for the mod's overarching intentions.

The world can and does have a litany of present, ongoing, unfolding and resolving conflicts (from personal to state-based) taking place across the map space. Though to be blunt -- they are not waiting on you. Does it sting? Don't worry, they're too busy trying to survive to care about your lack of care for them. And so the cycle is supposed to go such that these NPCs & Factions conduct themselves with respect to the momentum they've built up to lead them to the points they've reached. Your presence as a player is incidental, never intentional, regardless of how much you impose your will upon the world it's nigh impossible to account and control for all factors.

That embrace alleviates a quagmire of effort spent trying to handhold the player through the narrative chain as it plays out. I cannot stress enough how critical PRESENCE and MOVEMENT play a role in the core nature of the experience. You're a witness, perhaps a participant, though hardly the arbiter of the course of things. The world doesn't care about you. It will take its time and go to any length to make that known.

[On the matter of a Main Narrative]

War...war never changes.

Sure, now let's talk about what does change -- everything as a result of it.

The world has a history and hopefully a future dependent upon who you ask. The course of events doesn't necessitate any given outcome to the world. They are what color and contextualize the whole of the painting which composes the experience. The connections we make are threaded through the associations, known and yet to be discovered, we establish with the world & its inhabitants.

Characters are avatars of will even at a relatively benign level. Place a character in the right place, with a particular set of characteristics, something which embeds them into that space & time -- what can result is the opportunity for interaction and change. The notes & chords struck by these moments can affect for the whole world if enough weight is applied to them. Sometimes the designer does this, sometimes the player decides it for themselves. Identifying how to weave these moments into the world is what gives it a staying power beyond its mere existence.

What is a map but a space?

What are characters but abstract elements?

Actions and communications have consequences. The finality of these choices alter what is and brings about new states, some of which can wholly overturn the moment.

A network of waypoints arises as the many possibilities come and go from being.

...continued.

[On the matter of Narrative Tunneling]

There are three key phrase in event chains, each playing a distinct role --

1. "and then"
2. "therefore"
3. "but"

Structurally, state machines as a basis for constructing narratives has obvious upsides for carefully iterating through story beats. The pitfalls are a potential narrowing of diverse outcomes to a given scenario. As a network of intertwined factors grows it becomes increasingly difficult to stray from the web of priorities. This is what I colloquially refer to as narrative tunneling - the failure to consider events may not resolve to expected outcomes, even if proper order is adhered to.

One of the defining factors of a theory is that it must be tested and proven by supporting data. Sometimes the world doesn't provide the results we expect. The best laid plans of man and machines...

The Holy Nation takes hold of the desert. The Cannibals in turn overrun it all. Is this a forced outcome? Or is this unexpected? Was the logic to arrive there sound? Should the actors involved be operating logically? Is a logical outcome necessarily always desirable? Let's be blatant here - of course not. Rational, logical, sane results are interpretive attempts to make sense of a chaotic system -- human relationships.